# Sour cream = yogurt? Is this my imagination? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611 "2009-08-16T09:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/1 "2009-08-16T09:08:21Z")
I recently opened a newly bought package of sour cream, dated next month. I ate from it for a while (as a dip to taquitos… mmmm!), when I started noticing a sweet flavor to the sour cream that I didn’t remember tasting from previous nights with this snack (albeit with a package that’d been open a lot longer). And it might’ve been just me, but I could’ve sworn that the sour cream smelled like yogurt. Is this possible? Should I take it back to the store or something? Or am I just imagining things? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/2 "2009-08-16T09:40:35Z")
Perhaps in contrast to the spice in the taquitos, the SC seemed sweet. Is it the brand you usually buy? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/3 "2009-08-16T10:16:54Z")
Yeah. I’d just finished in the past few nights a container of the same brand. I even had the last few bites just before I used the new container. Whether imagined or not, it caught my attention. I don’t know if that means anything, tho’. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/4 "2009-08-16T19:24:57Z")
Sour cream and yogurt are not the same thing, although they, along with buttermilk and creme frache, can be subbed for one another in some recipes. Sour cream could not turn into yogurt, or vice versa. In addition to being made with cream rather than milk, sour cream is made with different types of bacteria than yogurt is. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/5 "2009-08-16T19:38:46Z")
I hadn’t noticed until recently how similar they are. I’ve taken to using plain, nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream with my Mexican food, as a healthier alternative, plus something I’m likely to use up vs. having leftover sour cream. So probably no cause for alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/6 "2009-08-16T20:31:08Z")
Ricotta cheese is also more similar and substitutable than most people realize, though far thicker. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/7 "2009-08-16T20:41:33Z")
I know there can be a noticable difference in butter from season to season due to changes in the cows’ diet. Is it possible that you’re tasting a difference like that? ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-cream-yogurt-is-this-my-imagination/506611/8 "2009-08-16T20:41:50Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Ricotta cheese is also more similar and substitutable than most people realize, though far thicker. Usually one of the purposes for sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk in a recipe is the acid content. It’s used as a tenderizer and/or a leavening agent. Ricotta does not have enough acid to serve those functions and is not cultured with bacteria as the others are, so the flavor profiles are quite different. Ricotta and cottage cheese can be easily subbed for each other, though.